Editor’s note: Update from “Playgrounds of Bergen County”, a Facebook Page by Kim who made detailed reviews of some great places to play in this area! Make sure you check out her page, and we look forward to indoor reviews as well in the future!
Memorial Field Playground • Haworth, NJ • Growing up in Haworth so I always knew this as “Castle Park,” where several wooden castle structures once stood but now stands a new, modern playground. Renovations to the 25+ year old wooden playground were initially supposed to undergo two phases, the first one being a structure for older kids and the second being one for younger kids. However, there were rumors of budgetary issues so I’m not sure if phase 2 is still in the works or not, so the majority of this playground is currently best for kids 3 and up. Unfortunately, the new structure is also significantly smaller, but it at least includes several unique areas that I have yet to see elsewhere!
More pics from Kim!
There is a rock wall made out of actual solid rock that although looks a bit intimidating at first, my 3 year old was able to climb (with some nervous spotting by mom 
⠀Upon entering is a sign stating “Welcome to a Biba Playground” which after Googling I learned is an app that allows you to play interactive games while in the playground using your phone as an augmented reality tool, similar to how Pokémon Go works if you’re familiar with that. The concept sounds interesting but I don’t know about you, but I bring my kids to the park to get away from screen time, not add to it, so we didn’t end up using it. Call me old fashioned but I’m not sold on the idea of bringing screen time into our sacred outdoor time
The playground is partially fenced in (the non-fenced in area leads to various playing fields adjacent to the playground) and there are bathrooms near the parking lot. It’s on a wood-chip base and is very well shaded and small enough that it’s easy to manage and great for a quick trip.
Check out Kim’s COMPLETE post on her Facebook Page link here– She does an incredible job with documenting playgrounds and look forward to future collaborations!
HISTORICAL REFERENCE BELOW
Shady Haworth Memorial Park
Thanks Elizabeth L. for sending us this description and great photos!:
“Entrance to Park at corner of Whitman St. and Hoover Way (off Madison Avenue), Haworth, NJ
Great wooden castle playground. Huge. Areas for older and younger kids. Minimal entrances/exits. TONS of shade. Swings, slides, etc.
It’s got pebble ground cover, so I would suggest that kids wear sneakers, rather than sandals, to minimize rocks in the shoes”
From “The Playground Guide”- Bergen County Edition:
ADDRESS: Whitman St & Hoover Way
DIRECTIONS: GSP N to exit 168 Washington/Westwood/HoHoKus. Bear right off of the exit onto Washington Ave. Stay on Washington Ave for approximately 2 miles and bear right onto Broadway in the center of Westwood. Continue on Broadway for about 3 miles and make a right onto Schraalenburgh Rd. Make a left onto Madison Ave and then a left onto Whitman St. Follow Whitman St to Hoover Way to park close to the playground.
DESCRIPTION: Supereenio is like no other playground in this book! Two large castles sit in a partially shaded and quiet area. The play structures are full of steps and tunnels and it’s all made out of wood and tires. There are very cool rubber ramps and climbers. Take a trip to the tallest towers and see if you can find an enchanted princess!
PARKING: Large paved lot close to the playground
PICNICKING: There are tables throughout the play area, even some built into the actual structure
CLIMBING: Tons of steps through these enchanted castles, chain steps and rubber poles leading to the castle areas, stacked tire steps, rings, balancing ropes, tire rocket flyer, parallel bars
PLAYTHINGS: Double tunnels, bridges, race car, stacked tires
SLIDES: All the slides are metal with one corkscrew, two toddler and one chute
SPORTS: Baseball, soccer, basketball, batting cages
SWINGS: Two full size, two full size tire, two toddler
WALKING PATHS: Paved to the playground area
OTHER COOL STUFF: Barbeque grill pits are available by permit, contact the town for information
MAKE A DAY OF IT: Visit Cresskill Performing Arts located at 300 Knickerbocker Rd (at the circle). They offer a wide variety of classes including ballet, jazz, hip-hop, funk jazz, modern, theater dance and tap. New programs include acting/improvisation, voice, fencing, and belly dancing for every age. Stop by and speak with the owner, Betsy Daly, for more information about all of their great programs.
This place has a huge playground where kids can let their imagination run wild. It does have plenty of shade, which we didn’t need on the particular day we were there, however, bring plenty of bug spray as there tend to be a lot of mosquitoes around. It was definitely a fun place for my boys to pass the time.
This park was so much fun when I took my 4-year-old nephew! There are so many places to explore and be creative. It brought back memories I have of a similar park in central NJ I went to as a child. My suggestion if you don’t live too nearby is to make a half a day of it by bringing a picnic lunch, lots of sunscreen and bug spray, bubbles and frisbees, etc. and just enjoy some great cheap family fun!
The wooden play structure at this site is huge and a great place for kids to run and play, however, when I visited today with my son I was really disappointed by the state of the park and structure. It appears the park was attacked by vandals and it was COVERED with grafitti some of it rather vulgar. Additionally there were a number of broken wooden pieces in the play structure so it wasn’t quite safe and had a fair bit of trash. The wooded portion of the park was filled with downed trees from the storms this fall and winter leaving that area impassable. All together the park felt like a real dump. It doesn’t look like it’s been visited by a grounds crew in awhile and perhaps that will improve as the weather continues to warm.
Hi Amanda, that sounds awful, I sent a message to the town via their website, and will let you know what they say.
I was there April 11 and the park was in great shape.
This wooden wonder is a rarity these days, when all the playgrounds are seemingly manufactured by the same tubular steel factory. There is no fear of falling off the castle parts as the widest wooden slat opening is maybe 5 inches. I felt completely safe running after my two toddlers while I was 6 months pregnant.
The playground itself is mainly enclosed by a wooden fence perimeter and the woods through which you may seem some private homes. This leads to some welcome shade, but also pesky insects. That’s the trade-off to a setting almost within the woods. The filler material is about half pebbles and half mulch, which I still do not love, (first thing my kids did when they came here was pick up the mulch and pebbles and see if they were edible. This playground will be added to my arsenal of local playgrounds. There are also two infant swings and two sets of adult swing/”recycled” tire swings (appropriate for toddlers). If only the filler were switched to rubber mulch or rubber matting, I would only take my kids here.
This park is close to home, love coming here! Brought my two boys here a number of times. Great place for kids & parents to have some safe, family fun! There’s plenty of activities here for your kids as well as a soccer and baseball field, and the playground is very clean! The playground is pretty safe for the most part except some of the wooden parts of the structure are damaged/missing and some of the swings are broken. There also appears to be a rather disturbing face of a man spray painted around the park, and there was even one right on the train mural near the parking lot! Hope that doesn’t scare anyone’s kids.. Lol!
256 Whitman St, Haworth, nj
Hello everyone. The town is very aware of the current state of Supereeno – both the positive and negative aspects. It is without any question a much needed and valued asset to our town, and currently there are plans to upgrade the site significantly with new play structures. No more splinters. But this is, as you can expect, a somewhat lengthy process that involves acquiring grants, private funding (donations), some tax money allocated as well as securing designs and bids from several playground design companies. This process is indeed underway already. We are hoping for completion within the 2016 calendar year.
What we are trying to do is create something genuinely special for the kids and parents that makes keeping an eye on them easy, provides a safe and engaging environment and is not a excessive cost to the tax payers. But there are some really good folks working on this and it has a lot of support from both the residents and mayor and council. We should hopefully be able to give this park a much needed upgrade very soon.
I’ve just been informed by the town of Haworth that this playground is set to be demolished in the next few weeks (April/May 2017). Very sad, but hopefully something just as nice will go up in its place. Built on the ideas of Haworth elementary school children in the early 90’s, this was a great project that will be missed.